New Found Gold probes ‘elephant’ potential of Queensway project

Success begets success; in the mining industry, jurisdictions that continually reward exploration companies for their efforts will attract more attention and more exploration. 

In Newfoundland and Labrador, a number of gold projects in stages between initial drilling to mine development — including Matador Mining’s (OTC: MZZMF; ASX: MZZ) Cape Ray gold project and Marathon Gold’s (TSX: MOZ; OTC: MGDPF) Valentine project — have spurred further exploration, tripling the number of active companies in the province.

“There's a whole group of companies that are very aggressively pursuing their claims here on the island, particularly. And you'll see that in the numbers too,” says Ed Moriarity, executive director of local industry association Mining NL. “The number of claims in good standing have gone [from] 90,000 last year or the year before to over 192,000.” 

Moriarity says that the number of companies carrying out active exploration in the province has jumped to the mid-70s today from the mid-20s in 2017. Spending on drilling and exploration for this year is forecast at $150 million, comparable with historic highs. 

Newfoundland and Labrador’s mining industry has seen the cycle of past booms like any other jurisdiction, says Moriarity — but this time is different.